Millennials Opt For Used Tesla Model S

Luxury automaker Tesla has a younger demographic to reach out to. A new study from Edmunds.com shows 10% of preowned Tesla car buyers are millennials, 6% of that same group are new Tesla buyers. The study also indicated 36% of those who purchased used Tesla Model S sedans earned under $100,000. According to another report from IHS Automotive, millennials appreciate the reliability of Tesla cars.

Tesla cars remain expensive

Claudia Assis of MarketWatch added, “A base version of Tesla’s Model S electric sedan starts at $70,000 and a faster, all-wheel drive version at $105,000. Tesla is expected to sell the Model X, its SUV, in September, and the Model 3, its mass-market car expected to cost about $40,000, in about three years.”

The same study shows not all Tesla owners live in California. Although the vast majority of those who own new and used Tesla vehicles live in the Golden State, many states seen a rise in used Tesla sales including Arizona, Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, Texas, and Washington. Seattle even has more registrations for used Tesla Model S vehicles, than San Francisco

More millennials choose to lease their cars

In early July, Edmunds released another study that claims millennials lease more cars at higher rates than the overall car purchasing demographic. Young people are also more apt to buy luxurious cars with tech-friendly features from companies like GMC, RAM, and Lexus.

Many buyers are also keeping their cars longer than they used to. In the first quarter, the average length of vehicle ownership was up 78 months. That number was about an increase of 26 months within a 9 year period.

Tesla continues to find new incentives to attract buyers. The automaker’s CEO Elon Musk recently announced plans to offer $1k referral discount. New buyers will receive the discount if they are referred by other Tesla owners. The discount is good for anything from a new car purchase, service, or accessories The program will last through October as an experimental project.